Tornado outbreak of May 7–9, 1927

On May 7–9, 1927, a deadly and destructive tornado outbreak affected the Midwestern and Southern United States, producing numerous strong tornadoes that killed 217 or more people. The strongest tornado of the outbreak, retroactively rated F5 on the Fujita scale, was a long-tracked tornado family that killed 10 people in southern Kansas on May 7. The deadliest tornado of the outbreak hit Poplar Bluff, Missouri, on May 9, doing F4 damage and killing at least 98 people. Other F4s that day collectively killed 75 people in Texas and Arkansas; a pair of F3s in the latter state killed 20. A few F4s in Missouri on May 8 also claimed 10 lives. According to tornado historian Thomas P. Grazulis, May 9, 1927, was "among the worst tornado days in U.S. history", featuring nine tornadoes that killed at least five people.

Tornado outbreak of May 7–9, 1927

Tornado outbreak
Tornadoes	≥ 38
Maximum rating	F5 tornado
Duration	May 7–9, 1927
Overall effects
Fatalities	≥ 217
Injuries	≥ 1,156
Damage	> $7,574,000 ($137,100,000 in 2024 USD)
Areas affected	Midwestern and Southern United States
Part of the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1927

Confirmed tornadoes

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating

FU	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	Total
2	?	1	18	8	8	1	≥ 38

Prior to 1990, there is a likely undercount of tornadoes, particularly E/F0–1, with reports of weaker tornadoes becoming more common as population increased. A sharp increase in the annual average E/F0–1 count by approximately 200 tornadoes was noted upon the implementation of NEXRAD Doppler weather radar in 1990–1991. 1974 marked the first year where significant tornado (E/F2+) counts became homogenous with contemporary values, attributed to the consistent implementation of Fujita scale assessments. Numerous discrepancies on the details of tornadoes in this outbreak exist between sources. The total count of tornadoes and ratings differs from various agencies accordingly. The list below documents information from the most contemporary official sources alongside assessments from Grazulis.

May 7 event

Confirmed tornadoes – Sunday, May 7, 1927

F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Time (UTC)	Path length	Width	Damage
F5	SW of Aetna to eastern Hutchinson to SSW of McPherson	Comanche, Barber, Kingman, Reno, McPherson	KS	00:00–?	95 mi (153 km)	3,520 yd (3,220 m)♯	$1,300,000
	10 deaths – This intense, long-lived tornado family may have formed in Oklahoma. At least two large tornadoes, up to 2 mi (3.2 km) wide, hit over 100 farms, some of which were obliterated, causing four deaths near Medicine Lodge and a fifth near Kingman. In Hutchinson the tornado(es) inflicted three deaths and losses of $750,000. A few final deaths took place near McPherson. In all 300 injuries occurred, and power lines were mangled. Wind or related tornado damage extended another 23 mi (37 km).

May 8 event

Confirmed tornadoes – Monday, May 8, 1927

F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Time (UTC)	Path length	Width	Damage
F3	W of North Platte to E of Hershey	Lincoln	NE	12:15–?	15 mi (24 km)	100 yd (91 m)	$45,000
	A narrow tornado struck eight farms, doing F3 damage to half of them and injuring three people. This and the next event belonged to a 34-mile (55 km) family.
F3	W and NW of Stapleton	Lincoln	NE	16:00–?	18 mi (29 km)	400 yd (370 m)	$50,000
	A tornado hit ranches, wrecking at least three homes and causing an injury.
F2	Between Sutherland and Calumet to SE of Hartley	O'Brien	IA	02:00–?	6 mi (9.7 km)	200 yd (180 m)	$20,000
	A tornado tore apart sheds, injuring a person, and hit a farm, wrecking all buildings but the farmhouse.
F4	Near Macks Creek to western Eldon to W of Olean	Camden, Miller	MO	02:00–?	35 mi (56 km)	300 yd (270 m)	>$120,000
	4 deaths – A violent tornado flattened much timber in Camden County, but hit few buildings. At Eldon it did major damage, wrecking about 20 homes, with a loss of $120,000. Downbursts may have hit Olean, inflicting more damage. 33 injuries occurred.
F4	NW of Jefferson City to W of New Bloomfield to S of Benton City	Cole, Boone, Callaway, Audrain	MO	03:15–?	40 mi (64 km)	400 yd (370 m)	$170,000
	6 deaths – Related to the previous event, an extremely potent tornado family swept away a well-built home, snapping a 16 ft × 6 ft × 0.33 ft (4.88 m × 1.83 m × 0.10 m) concrete basement wall segment to which it was bolted, which fatally crushed a few family members. It also destroyed barns on 12 or more farms and annihilated large houses. 30 injuries occurred.
F3	NW of Ava	Douglas	MO	04:00–?	9 mi (14 km)	400 yd (370 m)	Unknown
	2 deaths – A tornado destroyed nine homes, injuring 30 people.

May 9 event

Confirmed tornadoes – Tuesday, May 9, 1927

F#	Location	County / Parish	State	Time (UTC)	Path length	Width	Damage
F4	SW of Nevada to N of Josephine to E of Farmersville	Collin	TX	08:25–?	15 mi (24 km)	400 yd (370 m)	>$650,000
	19 deaths – A tornado leveled western Nevada, sweeping away several homes and causing 16 deaths there. The tornado wrecked 75% of the town itself and injured 100 or more—possibly as many as 200—people; the injured were hospitalized in five towns. Beyond Nevada the tornado tore apart many farmhouses as well, but most people heard the tornado and sheltered, reducing the death toll.
F4	WNW of Greenville to E of Celeste to near Wolfe City	Hunt	TX	09:00–?	15 mi (24 km)	400 yd (370 m)	$150,000
	6 deaths – Related to the previous F4, this event struck about 20 farms and swept away a few homes, killing four people in one of them. It also leveled many other farmhouses. 20 injuries occurred.
F2	Washington Township	Porter	IN	09:00–?	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
	A tornado wrecked several barns near Blackley Corner.
F4	Northern Garland	Dallas	TX	09:10–?	1 mi (1.6 km)	200 yd (180 m)	$65,000
	15 deaths – Brief but very destructive, a low-end F4 tornado badly damaged five blocks, leveling a few homes and lofting debris 10 mi (16 km); it meandered, at one point turning 180°. 40 injuries occurred. An EF4 tornado also hit Garland on December 26, 2015.
F2	NW of Holland to Beckett Mountain	Faulkner	AR	19:00–?	12 mi (19 km)	200 yd (180 m)	Unknown
	An intermittent tornado destroyed a barn and home.
FU	W of La Harpe	Hancock	IL	19:00–?	3 mi (4.8 km)	30 yd (27 m)	Unknown
	A tornado downed fences and outbuildings, killing poultry.
F3	Hickory Township	Schuyler, Fulton	IL	20:10–?	12 mi (19 km)	100 yd (91 m)	$40,000
	1 death – A tornado paralleled and tracked north of the Illinois River, wrecking five farmhouses. It also leveled barns, killed a boy, and injured a dozen people.
F2	Southern Shreveport	Caddo	LA	20:25–20:30	1 mi (1.6 km)	100 yd (91 m)	$5,000
	A low-end F2 tornado hit a block, unroofing a pair of homes, destroying another, damaging other buildings, and felling trees.
F2	Near Eden	Peoria	IL	20:30–?	Unknown	100 yd (91 m)	$10,000
	A tornado unroofed a home, carrying its roof 1⁄4 mi (0.40 km) away, and did other slight damage.
F2	Near Scott to S of Lonoke	Pulaski, Lonoke	AR	20:30–21:00	15 mi (24 km)	300 yd (270 m)	Unknown
	A tornado destroyed barns and small homes, injuring seven people.
F3	W of Carlisle to near Birdeye	Lonoke, Prairie, Woodruff, St. Francis, Cross	AR	20:30–22:00	75 mi (121 km)	200 yd (180 m)	$55,000
	8+ deaths – A long-lived family of three or more tornadoes swept away homes, killing half a dozen people at Center Point, Prairie County. It also severely damaged rural property, injuring 69 people. An additional death may have occurred as well.
F4	Northern Imboden (AR) to E of Currentview (MO) to Poplar Bluff (MO)	Lawrence (AR), Randolph (AR), Ripley (MO), Butler (MO)	AR, MO	20:35–21:20	60 mi (97 km)	880 yd (800 m)♯	$2,382,000
	98+ deaths – A catastrophic tornado first did F4 damage to 15 homes at Imboden and killed five people in the Brockett–Maynard area. Entering Missouri, it damaged several thousand trees and caused 10 deaths, including half a dozen in an automobile. It then devastated 31 blocks of Poplar Bluff, killing 83 or more people, including 21 in a hotel alone. 300 injuries occurred. The tornado is the third deadliest to hit Missouri, after the Marshfield Cyclone of 1880 (99 dead) and the Joplin tornado of 2011 (158 dead).
F4	SW of Hoxie to E of Walnut Ridge	Lawrence	AR	20:50–21:00	5 mi (8.0 km)	50 yd (46 m)	$300,000
	11 deaths – A short-lived tornado ravaged Hoxie, destroying 100 buildings, ripping off the upper story of a new high school, and killing two students. It also leveled numerous homes in town and near Walnut Ridge. A few families collectively lost nine people. 200 injuries occurred.
F2	Near Kingsland to near Toledo to near Randall	Cleveland, Lincoln	AR	21:10–21:27	28 mi (45 km)	400 yd (370 m)	$30,000
	9 deaths – This tornado seemed to become more intense toward the end of its path, causing 24 injuries.
F2	N of Kingston	Madison	AR	21:15–?	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
	A tornado destroyed a home, causing four injuries.
F3	SW of Egypt to E of Stanford	Craighead, Lawrence, Greene	AR	21:15–?	27 mi (43 km)	100 yd (91 m)	$5,000
	12 deaths – A tornado destroyed many barns and homes, killing a mother and her five children. It also caused three more deaths in another home. Eight injuries occurred.
F2	Bethesda	Independence	AR	21:20–?	Unknown	400 yd (370 m)	$25,000
	A tornado unroofed or destroyed six homes.
F2	Norphlet	Union	AR	21:30–?	2 mi (3.2 km)	150 yd (140 m)	$150,000
	1 death – A tornado damaged all of Norphlet, including oil derricks and homes. It tossed a derrick against a hospital, injuring a person, and unroofed, shifted, or collapsed homes in town. Most losses were to oilfield equipment, but crops were damaged as well. 35 injuries occurred.
F4	Strong	Union	AR	22:20–?	6 mi (9.7 km)	300 yd (270 m)	$500,000
	24 deaths – A tornado ripped apart downtown Strong, obliterating "the best homes" and killing well-to-do citizens, according to an account quoted by Grazulis. 72 injuries occurred.
F2	NW of Long Grove to SE of DeWitt	Scott, Clinton	IA	22:20–?	10 mi (16 km)	600 yd (550 m)	$22,000
	A tornado wrecked buildings on three farms, including one or more barns, and damaged trees.
F3	E of Morrisonville to NE of Decatur	Christian, Macon	IL	22:25–?	45 mi (72 km)	400 yd (370 m)	$1,000,000
	1 death – An intense tornado did borderline-F4 damage in Christian County, injuring 67 people on farms, and lightly damaged more than 1,000 homes in or near Decatur. In all 116 injuries occurred.
F2	N of Owaneco	Christian	IL	22:30–?	5 mi (8.0 km)	200 yd (180 m)	$20,000
	A tornado destroyed a number of barns.
F2	Near Clarence	Natchitoches	LA	22:30–?	3 mi (4.8 km)	200 yd (180 m)	Unknown
	1 death – A tornado destroyed two small homes, felled much timber, and blew a third home 60 yd (55 m) off its foundation, injuring seven people. Three other injuries occurred as well.
F3	SW of Carterville to Herrin to West Frankfort	Williamson	IL	22:55–?	16 mi (26 km)	400 yd (370 m)	$343,000
	A tornado unroofed about 100 homes at Carterville. It also damaged 100 more at Herrin, of which it destroyed 12. West Frankfort and the Ezra community reported losses of $100,000, along with 11 injuries. Greenhouses along the path were impacted as well. In all 21 injuries occurred.
F2	SW of Calvin	Winn	LA	00:30–?	8 mi (13 km)	800 yd (730 m)	Unknown
	A wide tornado splintered or uprooted several hundred trees. It also destroyed rural buildings and oil derricks, while unroofing homes.
F2	NW of Joppa (IL) to New Columbia (IL) to E of Samoth (IL)	McCracken (KY), Massac (IL)	KY, IL	00:30–?	10 mi (16 km)	600 yd (550 m)	$60,000
	6 deaths – A strong tornado wrecked eight homes at New Columbia, with five deaths in a few of them. A man died aboard a towboat on the Ohio River as well. 20 injuries occurred.
F2	SW of Renick to E of Moberly	Randolph, Monroe	MO	02:00–?	10 mi (16 km)	300 yd (270 m)	$7,000
	Wrecking a pair of barns, a tornado also blew two homes off their foundations, both of which it unroofed.
F2	W of Walker	Ottawa	MI	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
	A tornado damaged a few homes, destroyed a pair of barns, wrecked an automobile, and killed livestock.
F2	Near Loomis to near Beaverton	Isabella, Clare, Gladwin	MI	Unknown	10 mi (16 km)	Unknown	$50,000
	A tornado damaged 40 farm buildings, among them barns.
F1	Tigertown	Lamar	TX	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
	This tornado was related to the Nevada–Wolfe City family.
FU	Fredonia	Ozaukee	WI	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
	A tornado downed some trees.

See also

• List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks

Sources

• Agee, Ernest M.; Childs, Samuel (June 1, 2014). "Adjustments in Tornado Counts, F-Scale Intensity, and Path Width for Assessing Significant Tornado Destruction". Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology. 53 (6). American Meteorological Society: 1494–1505. doi:10.1175/JAMC-D-13-0235.1.
• Brooks, Harold E. (April 2004). "On the Relationship of Tornado Path Length and Width to Intensity". Weather and Forecasting. 19 (2): 310–19. Bibcode:2004WtFor..19..310B. doi:10.1175/1520-0434(2004)019<0310:OTROTP>2.0.CO;2.
• Cook, A. R.; Schaefer, J. T. (August 2008). "The Relation of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to Winter Tornado Outbreaks". Monthly Weather Review. 136 (8): 3121–3137. Bibcode:2008MWRv..136.3121C. doi:10.1175/2007MWR2171.1.
• Edwards, Roger; LaDue, James G.; Ferree, John T.; Scharfenberg, Kevin; Maier, Chris; Coulbourne, William L. (May 1, 2013). "Tornado Intensity Estimation: Past, Present, and Future". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 94 (5). American Meteorological Society: 641–653. doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00006.1.
• Grazulis, Thomas P. (May 1984). Violent Tornado Climatography, 1880–1982. OSTI (Technical report). NUREG. Washington, D.C.: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. OSTI 7099491. CR-3670.
  • — (November 1990). Significant Tornadoes 1880–1989. Vol. 2. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-02-3.
  • — (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
  • — (2001a). The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-3538-0.
  • — (2001b). F5-F6 Tornadoes. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films.
• National Historical Company (1882). "34: Tornadoes". The History of Nodaway County, Missouri. St. Louis, Missouri: National Historical Company. pp. 502–11. LCCN 01001371 – via Internet Archive.
• U.S. Weather Bureau (May 1927). "Severe Local Storms, May, 1927" (PDF). Monthly Weather Review. 55 (5). Washington, D.C.: 247. Bibcode:1927MWRv...55..247.. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1927)55<247:SLSM>2.0.CO;2. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 29, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2025 – via American Meteorological Society.

40°33′23″N 94°58′18″W / 40.5564°N 94.9716°W / 40.5564; -94.9716